INTO PRIMEVAL PAPUA BY SEAPLANE
Photograph by Dr. E. W. Brandes
PILOT PECK, MR. IVAN CHAMPION, A PAPUAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL, AND AN
AMERICAN WOMAN ARTIST
Much to the surprise of the members of the cane-hunting expedition, a young American
artist and her companion suddenly appeared aboard the supply boat Vanapa after it had left
Port Moresby. The two women accompanied the party up the Fly River as far as Everill
Junction and remained at the base camp two days. They were jokingly referred to as "stow
aways" by the members of the Expedition, but they had paid the captain of the ship passage
money for their adventurous voyage (see text, page 285).
slug exported to China, where it is es
teemed a delicacy in making soups), pearls,
and trochus shell. Luggers engaged in the
pearling industry are licensed at Daru, but
as the Queensland boundary extends in
these waters to within a few miles of the
Papuan coast, most of the pearls and pearl
shell obtained by them are not credited to
the Territory of Papua.
OUTFITTING AT PORT MORESBY
We spent the ten days in Port outfit
ting and supplementing stores shipped
from Australia and America. We char
tered an auxiliary ketch, the Vanapa, of
about Ioo tons burden, to transport most
of our men, our fuel, supplies, and scien
tific instruments to some yet-to-be-found
point on the Strickland River, which
would later become our first base camp.
In general, we had decided on the left
bank of the Strickland River, above its
juncture with the Fly, in a mysterious
region regarded by coast folk with super
stitious awe.
Those on board included Ivan Cham
pion, now Assistant Resident Magistrate.
and a detachment of native police, detailed
by the Government to guard us.
Camp making and direction of trans
port was in the hands of a wandering son
of California, Mr. Roy Bannon, who
reached this far strand years ago. In his
charge were the signed-on "boys," includ
ing Gano, the cook; Euki, a reputed wash
wash boy; Emere, a slight, furtive indi
vidual, chosen, because of his lack of
weight, as "crew of airplane"; and Nape,
my personal boy, truculent, but a straight,
well-muscled fellow, clever with bow and
arrow.
On board, also, were 1,150 gallons of
aviation gasoline in lo-gallon drums, tons
of tinned food and rice, 3 portable boats
with outboard motors, 6 wall tents and 30
tent flies, and the usual complement of
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